The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 29

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 29
Episode 29
This kind of situation simply couldn’t be left alone.
I had to show interest immediately.
“What aspects should I examine more carefully?”
“Ah, well, the truth is our Mayor harbors considerable hatred for dark mages. Though, who doesn’t have their grievances, right….”
“That does seem to be the case.”
“Dark mages are the sort who conduct experiments on people, are they not? Though I suppose there are exceptions among them, but still.”
There it is.
One word from me and he’s already biting at the bait.
I never expected the Mayor to come up so directly.
This is becoming easier by the moment.
Parkin, unaware of my true intentions, appeared apologetic.
No, no, that’s not it at all.
Actually, this is perfect.
“So while it’s a simple task, if you happen to discover any records or materials related to dark mages, I would be truly grateful if you brought them to me. Of course, the compensation would be quite generous….”
[Quest ‘Undead Investigation of the Dark Forest’ has been permanently modified.]
[Quest created.]
[Undead Investigation of the Dark Forest]
*Description: Recently, undead have been appearing in abundance in the Dark Forest.
Guard Captain Parkin attributes this to the work of dark mages, a fact already mentioned in other requests.
Normally, the mission would end with reducing the undead population and gathering intelligence on their movements.
But there’s more added to it now.
Marquis Jihokin, the Mayor of Free City Felsia, appears to harbor an unusual hatred for dark mages.
While investigating the undead in the Dark Forest, observe the situation regarding dark mages if possible.
*Objective: Eliminate a certain number of undead in the Dark Forest, gather information on dark mages
*Reward: Random Skill Book (Rare), additional rewards based on information provided
Wow, look at how long this quest description is.
But the content itself is nothing special.
Already knew it, already heard it.
The real prize is something else.
That thing in the rewards section.
Look at how it gleams.
That’s the real treasure.
‘The original reward was a Random Skill Book (Normal).’
Does Rare mean only Rare-tier items drop randomly?
I’m spouting nonsense again.
No, what it means is that the minimum tier is Rare.
Higher tiers can also drop from Rare and above.
Though the probability is certainly lower.
But if it went from Normal to Rare, that means I’m guaranteed to secure any Rare item, doesn’t it?
This is incredible.
I can’t believe things are going this well.
“Hahahaha! Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything for you.”
“Ah! If Gruen himself vouches for Jin-woo, then I can trust him completely! I’ll be waiting!”
“Of course! I’ll be on my way then!”
“Please be careful out there.”
Look at how polite they’re being all the way to the end.
With treatment like this, I need to do this properly.
Well, it’s only natural if I want to meet the Mayor anyway.
It seemed almost too easy, but I’m not complaining.
As I left the Guard Corps with a grin, I suddenly felt something nagging at me.
You know that feeling, right?
Like leaving home and forgetting something.
That’s exactly what I was experiencing.
I felt like I’d forgotten something.
But I couldn’t remember what.
‘Hmm.’
It probably doesn’t matter.
If it’s important, it’ll come to me when I really need it!
Let me just go catch that dark sorcerer.
Besides, I already know where to find them.
This should be straightforward.
But I really can’t remember what it was.
Something about the dark sorcerer, I think.
I remember the location and what they’re like, but—
What’s the problem?
Well, I’ll figure it out once I get there and deal with them.
So I hurried toward the Dark Forest.
* * *
The Dark Forest.
A hunting ground that priests absolutely loved.
Why?
Because undead spawned like crazy here.
It was a power-leveling paradise for the Priest class.
Holy-attribute jobs felt the same way.
But was it unpopular with other classes?
Not at all.
With just a torch, anyone could hunt here.
As long as you dealt with the darkness, hunting was actually quite easy.
With just a blunt weapon, I could smash skeleton skulls to my heart’s content—that was all there was to it.
However, without a torch, the difficulty skyrocketed exponentially.
You never knew where an attack would come from.
Obvious, really.
But why was Jin-woo hunting so well without even carrying a torch?
Crack!
“Whoosh! Nice shot!”
Predictable.
The kid’s got experience, that’s what!
Experience!
Mere darkness couldn’t stop him.
That’s the truth of it!
Why not carry a torch when an easier path exists?
Well, it’s obvious.
[You have hunted 5 monsters in darkness for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘One Adapted to Darkness’.]
[You have successfully hunted monsters in the darkness.]
[You have acquired the general skill ‘Night Eyes’.]
[You have acquired a First Title.]
[Through the Title Hunter effect, you have gained an additional stat point.]
“That’s it!”
I wanted exactly this.
Both of these are incredibly useful.
Especially both.
『One Adapted to Darkness』
→First Title
→A title granted to the first user to defeat 5 monsters in dim vision conditions
→Damage increases by 10% when attacking normal monsters in dark or shaded areas
『Night Eyes』
*Grade: Normal
*Level: Max
→You can see as clearly in dark places as you do in daylight.
As you can see, it’s quite useful.
Well, One Adapted to Darkness is a bit underwhelming, though.
But still, a First Title nonetheless.
I’m genuinely lucky.
We’re reaching the point where First Titles are starting to disappear.
It seems no one has hunted in darkness yet.
Come to think of it, there were no places filled with darkness in the Beginner Region from what I remember.
Essentially, the number of First Titles I can monopolize is shrinking from here on out.
It doesn’t matter.
‘I already anticipated this.’
It’s not that I’ve eaten enough and it’s fine.
I never expected to be able to consume everything from the start.
I hadn’t planned it that way originally either.
That’s how I set up the plan from the beginning.
I didn’t even list items that seemed impossible to eat in the first place.
That’s why I excluded the Divine Series as well.
Anyway, all the important first-tier titles have plans~ for them~.
But right now, something else takes priority.
‘There are fewer undead than I expected?’
Even after the dark sorcerer—the necromancer—was captured later, undead still swarmed the area.
But look at it now.
One or two creatures per ten meters.
One or two was never the baseline.
There should have been at least a dozen, if not dozens.
It’s far too few.
Why is this happening?
Did I arrive too quickly?
‘That’s possible, I suppose.’
My pace has been abnormally fast, hasn’t it?
Moving to the next region when it’s almost the second day?
Insane speed.
Could it really be that there are no undead because I came so fast?
No, that’s not it.
If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been a request in the first place.
But thinking about it that way makes sense.
At the point when a request already exists, there should normally be many undead.
Let me recall whether those who first undertook this request encountered fewer creatures.
‘They didn’t.’
Rather, not only were there more than now, but even after the dark sorcerer was captured later, there were more undead than what I’m seeing currently.
Which means the current number is, by any measure, abnormal.
And if I recall Parkin’s account?
‘It’s definitely fewer.’
Doesn’t this smell suspicious?
What? You say it reeks of decay?
No, not that.
The Dark Forest always reeks of decay.
I’m talking about the scent of a hidden piece, not that stench.
Guard Captain Parkin even asked me to handle it carefully.
The number of undead right now is definitely strange.
More than anything.
‘The desolate feeling is intense.’
It happens sometimes.
When I get that eerie sensation.
That chilling feeling when something goes wrong.
I feel it exactly now.
When I feel this in a game, it usually means the difficulty is about to spike dramatically.
Hmm, actually that’s good.
‘Should I head there quickly then?’
I roughly know where the Necromancer is located. If I head that way, will there be more undead?
Let me go check.
With that thought, I increased my speed.
Running at full throttle, I was faster than I’d imagined.
Of course. At level 30 with all my stats exceeding 100.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Crack! Crack!
“Kiek?”
Crack!
I crushed the skulls of every undead I could see while moving.
Moving quickly, I hunted down every creature visible to me.
By the time I’d defeated over twenty of them.
I noticed something.
‘The numbers keep increasing?’
Still, it’s fewer than what I expected.
Much fewer.
Is there something else here?
This is driving me crazy with curiosity.
Is there a hidden boss or something?
Man, I hope so.
Free stat points would be nice.
Ah, I can’t hold back.
Let’s go faster.
Pap pap pap!
As I accelerated further, the undead numbers increased proportionally.
Not that it matters.
Even if low-level undead multiply, they’re all one-hit kills anyway.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
With my speed increased, the monsters became hard to gauge.
But they’re all similar creatures anyway.
Most likely a Skeleton or Zombie.
Crack! Crack!
Listen to that crisp sound~!
Haha!
This is why I hunt Undead.
Let’s go again!
Thud!
Huh?
Thud? Did it just say thud?
Something feels off.
At that strange sound, Jin-woo turned his head.
I hadn’t paid attention because the monster was moving too fast to see clearly.
There stood a monster, confidently blocking my attack and looking utterly smug about it.
It was quite massive.
“Grrrrgh.”
It let out an ominous growl while proudly spreading its shoulders, flaunting its enormous frame.
Compared to me, it was at least three times larger.
Just look at that white body towering roughly six meters tall.
An enormous frame composed entirely of bone.
And those crimson jewel-like eyes set in the center of its skull.
There was no doubt.
‘A Skull Golem?’
What is this thing doing here?
Isn’t it an intermediate-level Undead?
By level, it should be around 60.
Well, Felsia does have hunting grounds ranging from level 30 to 100.
But the Dark Forest is supposed to be a hunting ground for levels 30 to 40, isn’t it?
Why are you here, big brother?
As if answering my polite question, the Skull Golem shrieked.
“Grrrrgh.”
The clatter of bone echoed as the Skull Golem moved.
It brought down its massive fist in a crushing strike.
No, big brother!
Boom!
I managed to dodge at high speed.
But look at that.
The ground was gouged as if a meteor had fallen.
Wow.
Getting hit by that could really spell trouble.
But thanks to that, I understood.
So that’s why there were so few undead.
It was because of that bastard—or rather, that older brother.
[The Hidden Boss of the Dark Forest, Skull Golem Arur, grows furious.]
[It has launched a preemptive strike.]
[You cannot evade.]
This is infuriating.
How was I supposed to know who that creature was?
I didn’t want to attack first!
But what can I do about it?
I have no choice but to fight.
A level 30 difference?
Well, it’s manageable.
“Haaah.”
I exhaled and prepared for battle.
The creature did the same.
As expected of a Hidden Boss—it possesses this much strength.
It moved swiftly toward me, but that was all.
I moved just as swiftly.
Exhaling crimson vapor.
Shhhhhhh.
I activated Berserker.
The overwhelming power surging through my body was almost uncontrollable.
But this wasn’t the end.
‘All-Rounder—Strength.’
This is what it truly means to overflow with power.
Was this all the preparation?
Hardly.
I needed to show the real thing.
Like a declaration of war, so to speak.
It already struck first?
Dwelling on such trivial matters makes one unpopular.
Though I’m a loner myself.
Regardless, that’s not what matters.
‘Rapid Fire, Reinforced Strike, Teleport.’
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-bang!
All ten bullets exploded against the creature, and then.
I shouted the line I’d been dying to say.
“You fight that well? Follow me to the rooftop.”
This is only satisfying when you say it while throwing something!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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